guitar mixing/eq

[schust]

i always use to think I mixed guitars well, but lately a few reviews have proved otherwise.

my biggest problem is, for some reason - I can't get them "defined" in the mix EQ spectrum where they aren't competing with the bass. the biggest comment I get is "they need more highs / volume". So I add more highs (~1k-5k range) - perhaps cut or rolloff down in the lower mids to give the bass some room - but then they end up sounded whimpy/thin. i boost them in the mix - but they just don't sit well. i generally have 4 tracks, panned 100/100, 80/80 - recorded podxt then using cab impulses at mix.

do any of you have some real cookbook approaches, or tips/tricks, to

• EQing them so they sit well AND maintain they're "chunkiness" (for lack of a better word)
• i know this depends on the guitar recorded, but generally speaking, what does the EQ curve look like for most of you who are happy with your guitars. are there some common things you do everytime
• where volume-wise is a good place to start with them in relation to the bass/drums (e.g. +1db above the bass)

 

[PostMortem1666]

i usually do a highpass up to ~80hz. this might help with them sitting well with the bass. sometimes if they're a little thin ill boost around 240hz. also when im mixing i always try to keep my faders in the negatives. like if i need more bass ill minus everything else. i try to never add any db. you probably know alot of this but im just trying to help as im rather new myself at all this.

 

[scorpio01169]

I dont know if you do this already, but solo the track first, center it, get it sounding the way you want, then pan. then unsolo the track with drums and bass playing. then tweek the guitar track just a little to sit with the bass. that way when guitar parts are playing alone they sound the way you want. doing this,a little compression and automation during mixdown, you should be fine.

 

[STINNETT]

.....the biggest comment I get is "they need more highs / volume". So I add more highs (~1k-5k range) - perhaps cut or rolloff down in the lower mids to give the bass some room - but then they end up sounded whimpy/thin......

If that is really what's happening, just eq it less. Sometimes subtle changes are all you want.
Also start out by trying only one thing at a time and really analyze the results.

 

[schust]

thanks! i'll give these ideas a shot.

 

[Sinister Mephisto]

I dont know if you do this already, but solo the track first, center it, get it sounding the way you want, then pan. then unsolo the track with drums and bass playing. then tweek the guitar track just a little to sit with the bass. that way when guitar parts are playing alone they sound the way you want. doing this,a little compression and automation during mixdown, you should be fine.

Sorry to be a dick, but I disagree. How will listening to the guitar track by itself help?

 

[Zuranthus]

these are two of the best EQ guides i've found...i recommend reading them in this order

http://www.transom.org/tools/basics/200303.eq.towne.html
http://www.recordingwebsite.com/articles/eqprimer.php

 

[Loren Littlejohn]

Sorry to be a dick, but I disagree. How will listening to the guitar track by itself help?

I disagree as well. I eq guitars in the mix. Soloing doesn't really work for me.

 

[greyskull]

I solo guitars to pull out the screech that lives around 2.3k, then eq in the mix

 

[Loren Littlejohn]

Well right when your doing some surgical stuff you need to solo but the overall sound should be eq'ed in the mix.

 

[Aaron Smith]

I think EQing soloed can be kind of helpful, actually.

 

[alan1990]

I think EQing soloed can be kind of helpful, actually.

I think eqing soloed is almost required as it lets you know if the sound you are getting is acutely like what you are going for. Its one thing to have everything sound good together, but its deffinetly another thing when within that mix everyone instrument sounds good on its own as well. This is something im struggling with right now as well

 

[JBroll]

If you know what a good in-the-mix sound is supposed to be like, and you have enough experience to 'place' things the right way without hearing everything else, it's a good start and it also helps you figure out what parts of the sound do what. It's really easy to try and sweep a notch up and down in a mix and miss the way you're changing the character of the sound; if you know what you're doing - and THIS is why we're always correcting inexperienced people: you HAVE to know what you're doing - it can be useful. Plus, it gives you a more objective view of what can be pulled out and what can't be pulled out so that you can see what things will be competing where and how much each can give.

Jeff

 

[scorpio01169]

Sorry to be a dick, but I disagree. How will listening to the guitar track by itself help?

lets just say at a point in a song the band stops exept one guitar, well he may sound like ass because when he was eq'd in the mix you were'nt getting a true rep of what that guitar really sounding like alone. so when you reach for that knob to make it sound right, it was something you shoulda done from the get go. but alota peeps eq in the mix.

 

[Metaltastic]

As with all things in life, it takes a little of every idea to get it just right

 

[madmuso]

I find this gets pretty quick results. Each to his own of course.

Pan everything where you want it to be 1st, before eq'ing.
Shifting sounds in the audio spectrum can sometimes be enough to stop sounds from stepping on each others toes, which is half the battle.

If I have to boost eq on something I'll almost always start off by doing so while the entire song is playing so I can find the "sweet spot" that works for the song.

I approach cutting eq a little differently, toms for example, I'll solo a tom, find the boxiness and take out what I think it suitable, say -4db. Then I place the "cut" knob back to zero leaving the "q" where it is, un-mute everything then play around with the cut knob while the track is playing. You'd be suprised, you dont always end up with the same db as when the part is solo'd. Experimenting with the q knob can create some great results too.

Usualy, an instrument eq'd while solo'd (as is often the case with bass gtr) doesnt always work for the mix. If you have a section in a song where the guitars or bass have to play on their own but the sound isnt great (but works for the mix) then comp the parts to another track, make them similar to the original then make the appropriate changes so they work for that section of the song. Remember, audio is also about fooling our ears.

Also, learn to listen to other instruments while you are eq'ing something.
For example, if you're eq'ing the bass gtr, listen to the kick and vocals and see how they are being affected. We dont always have to be focusing all our attention on what we are actualy eq'ing. Try it, you'll be suprised.

Also, wider q's tend to sound more natural than very very narrow q's.
Good luck!

my 2 cents

madmuso

 

[JBroll]

I'm going to completely disagree with panning before EQing; it makes it very easy to not tell that something needs to be done, so there's just this subconscious urge to go kablooey with odd shit wondering why there's so much gunk in one region. Plus, while EQ and compression are always heard, panning doesn't mean shit fin Flash players, shitty stereos in less-than-ideal conditions, and many other situations - and don't underestimate the weight of those things, shitty as they are. If you can hear everything in mono, your stereo image will be fucking godly; it's easier to miss things in stereo.

Jeff

 

[Nebulous]

Regarding the "EQ with/out solo" debate, I really think that either can work, it's just a matter of actually knowing what you want to achieve in each situation. It doesn't matter how you listen to the sound if you can't decide, at least roughly, what needs changing.

 

[Nebulous]

madmuso

Good to see you posting here abit more often now Sammy. I'd really love to know some of your secrets, as well as Andy L's, that make the Eyefear albums sound so good.

 

[smy1]

I'm going to completely disagree with panning before EQing; it makes it very easy to not tell that something needs to be done, so there's just this subconscious urge to go kablooey with odd shit wondering why there's so much gunk in one region. Plus, while EQ and compression are always heard, panning doesn't mean shit fin Flash players, shitty stereos in less-than-ideal conditions, and many other situations - and don't underestimate the weight of those things, shitty as they are. If you can hear everything in mono, your stereo image will be fucking godly; it's easier to miss things in stereo.

Jeff

Interesting, but I disagree with you here a bit

Try panning in mono first. You will find spots where the sound sticks out better and where it doesnt. And when you go back to stereo, the image (as you say) will be really good.

You gotta have one speaker for this though. Two (and just the 2bus collapsed to mono) won't work as well ...